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2008-12-02 16:53:12

Handling Your Common Landlord Complaints Easily and Effectively

Owning and managing your rental properties means having to handle the landlord complaints that tag along with it. Find out what are the most common problems that caused by tenants and you can deal with these landlord complaints quick and easy right now.

Your Tenant Allows Others to Stay with Them Without Your Permission

If you have a written rental agreement, only people who are listed as tenants and occupants are allowed to live on your rental property for a prolonged period.

Firstly, you have to know it is your tenant's right to have visitors coming over or staying for short overnight stays on your property.

These visitors are known as guests and you cannot restrict them as long as they are not disturbing anyone or causing any landlord complaints.

However when these people overstay their welcome and live on your property for too long, it is time to take action against these squatters. Your tenants have to inform you and seek your permission before they are allowed to have other people staying with them for an extended period of time.

Once you find out about these squatters, you have to decide whether to keep them or chase them away. It's a good idea to meet your tenant and their squatters for a face to face interview first.

Screen any squatters carefully just like you would screen any new tenants for your property. If you are happy with him, then you can keep add him to your lease contract as an additional occupant.

Otherwise you have the complete rights to chase him away immediately.

Your Tenant is Unwilling or Unable to Pay You Rent

As a landlord, your rental income is a vital lifeline that you have to sustain carefully. That's why having to handle tenants who are not paying rent is one of most dreaded type of landlord complaints.

When you want to remove a tenant who is not paying his rent, you can't just simply chase him away with a broom. There are a few systematic steps you have to take in order to replace him with a new tenant.

Firstly you have to send him a written notice to quit. This note will give him a last chance to pay up within a time limit or he will have to leave your property. Depending on the laws in your area, this grace period can range from 3 to 7 days.

If he does not pay and refuses to leave your rental property, you can file an unlawful detainer action against him to formally being your eviction lawsuit. The good news is that most tenants will choose to leave your rental property once they receive their summon to appear in court.

To handle the few tough nuts that do appear in court to try their luck, make sure you keep all written receipts and records of their rent payments. You will also need to keep your copy of the notice to quit that you sent them earlier.

Your Tenant Causes Damage to Your Property Due to Neglect or Abuse

One of the important things that you have to learn as a landlord is that you are not responsible for every single property repair. While it's the landlord's duty to maintain his rental property according to the local health and safety standards, your tenants will have to make repairs and pay for any damages that they cause.

Even if the property damage was accidental or inflicted by their visiting guests, your tenant will still be responsible for fixing the damages.

The quickest and easiest way to handle this type of landlord complaints is to ask your tenant to settle the repairs by themselves.

This makes they will be in charge of making arrangements for the repairs and forking out money for the bills.

If your tenant refuses to pay up or take action, no worries you can still deduct money from his security deposit to pay for it. However, you have to make sure you do the right way.

Firstly, you should take photos of your property damages as evidence of the type and extent of the mess. Then you can hire a repairman to repair and get your rental property up to shape again. Remember to ask the repairman to issue you a receipt as proof of the repair.

Teo Zhenjie has been showing landlords how to manage their tenants and rental properties effectively on Propertydo. Visit his website today for step-by-step real estate guides, free resources and forms.